A new beginning
by son-goku5
Summary: AU story: What if Ross got himself a makeover before his senior year? Will the teen years go differently? Ross&Rachel story. Possibly a little Mondler as it goes along. Chapter 4 is up. Please read and review :)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Friends characters (too bad ^^)**

**A/N: I'm german, so if you find small typos, ignore them. If you find grammatically wrong sentences, tell me so I can get better :D Enjoy! Please R&R  
**

**Chapter 1**

He was tired. So very tired. Not in a physical way. He was tired of this life. After once more running home to escape a bunch of bullies lead by those football guys, something in his head clicked. He had to change himself in some ways. He would never stop being what others call a geek. He was intelligent, interested in science and history and not really a sports guy.

He looked in the mirror and contemplated his reflection.

"Ross Geller, do something. You have the whole summer to do it." he said to himself.

Tomorrow the finals would be over.

"Dad!" he yelled downstairs.

"Yes, son?" his father yelled back.

"I have a plan what to do during the summer holidays."

"Okay, come down and tell me and we'll see if it is possible."

Ross went downstairs and laid out his plan to his parents.

* * *

Rachel and Monica walked home from school chatting and laughing as almost everyday. Rachel had a lot of friends but only with Monica she felt at ease. Her other friends were always talking about boys, sex and their easy lives.

It was different with Monica. They also talked about boys but Monica was more shy around the topic of sex and she definitely has no easy life. Her family was not rich like those of her other friends and she was overweight so she became the butt of jokes almost every day.

Suddenly a bike screeched to a halt next to them. It was Chip Matthews, Rachel's boyfriend.

"Hey honey." he said to Rachel.

"Hi Chip." she responded.

She looked at him. He was the cutest guy in school and when they started their relationship he was really sweet. He mostly hung out with his friends and drank beer. But lately he had changed. He became more aggressive, not only towards others but also towards her. He made no bones about the fact that he wanted sex with her but Rachel didn't feel ready for it yet.

"Wanna come for a ride?" he asked, pointing towards the back seat of the bike.

"I'd love to but I have to get home first, my helmet is there. Also, I'm walking home Monica."

"Come on, leave the MoniCow, I give you a ride home." he responded, grinning derogatory in Monica's direction.

"Chip!" Rachel said mildly shocked. "How can you be so insensitive?"

"What?" he asked, addled.

"What do you mean 'What?' Did you just hear yourself talking?" Rachel asked exasperated.

"Come on, I'm not saying anything the other kids at school say."

"That's even worse. You know what, right now I don't want to be with you right now."

Chip's eyes widened. Did Rachel just denied him? How dare she?

"Fine." he said angrily. "I see you tonight."

Rachel saw him putting on his helmet and she could have sworn she heard him mutter the word 'bitch' before he started the bike and drove away furiously.

She turned around to see tears running down Monica's face. She closed the distance between them and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry. Chip can be a jerk sometimes." Rachel said apologetically.

"He's not the only one." Monica responded in tears. "He's just one of the more vocal. Most others do it behind my back."

"Just forget about it."

"How can I? Do you know why more people aren't like Chip in regards to me?" Monica asked.

"Erm..." Rachel racked her brain, thinking of a reason. "Not really."

"It's you." Monica flatly stated.

"What?"

"If it weren't for you being my best friend, way more people would be openly mean to me like Chip." I know they are snickering when they think I can't hear them. And it hurts."

Monica continued sobbing and Rachel could do nothing but hold her. After a few minutes, Monica hat calmed down enough for them to continue their way home.

During their walk, a plan formed in Monica's mind. She could do something, she just needed to talk to her parents.

"So, what are you doing in the summer?" she asked Rachel, mostly to change the topic.

"I don't really made any specific plans." Rachel responded. "My family will visit a couple of relatives and the rest will consist of hanging out with the girls and Chip."

As she said that, Rachel started thinking about Chip. _'Do I really want to spend time with him?'_ she thought to herself. _'He has become such a jerk during the past weeks.'_

Rachel was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't realize Monica talking. After a few minutes they reached the Geller house.

"Wanna come in?" Monica asked.

"Why not, but only a few minutes. I have to get home too." Rachel answered, smiling.

They headed towards the front door but before she could touch the knob the door opened.

"Hey you two." Ross said.

Rachel noticed him looking at her. As he was looking into her eyes, she noticed his. They were a dark hazel color, and had a warmth and depth in them that was almost painful to look at. They were the exact opposites of Chip's eyes, whose eyes were always filled with lust or nothing. Before she could drown in his eyes, his gaze wandered down.

"What?" she asked. "Do I have something on me?"

"Actually yes." Ross answered, somewhat enjoying the look on Rachel's face as she looked down on herself to find whatever he spotted.

"What is it?" Rachel asked, becoming annoyed with the grin on his face.

"Your nose." Ross answered, grinning. "Since you got it done, you look stunning."

Rachel started to blush but Before she could respond to that, Ross got called away by his father. Rachel watched him go, strange feelings coursing through her. Something was different about him. She couldn't pinpoint it. He still looked the same, with that ridiculous looking mustache and that Mister Kotter afro.

"What's with him?" she could Monica hear saying.

"I was just thinking the same thing." Rachel said to her.

Then she saw it. His walk had a happy quality to it as if some weight was lifted from his shoulders. She wondered what brought that on. Last thing she remembered was him being once again chased away by Chip and his cronies.

Then she saw it. He had a spring in his step what wasn't there before. She wondered what news he could have gotten to make him happy like that, especially one day before finals.

"Rachel?"

Rachel snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Monica say her name.

"Yes?"

"I said, you want to come up in my room? You have been standing here for almost a minute, watching my brother."

"What? No." Rachel said, slightly embarrassed. She wasn't watching Ross, he was a geek.

Yes, a geek.

After they entered Monica's room, they began talking.

"Rachel, I've decided to go to a fitness camp during the summer." Monica stated.

"What? Why?"

"Because I want to lose weight and I need an incentive. I don't believe I can do it here."

"But then we won't see each other all summer." Rachel said almost whining.

"I'm afraid so. But you could come visit." Monica said smiling. "Or come with me for the whole time. Although you don't need it."

"Seriously, I don't want to go to a fitness camp for the whole summer" Rachel smiled back "because I have to visit relatives with my family but I can come visit."

"Great." Monica said happily.

"But I have to go now, my parents are surely waiting for me."

"I walk you to the door." Monica said finally.

As they walked through the hallway and down the stairs Rachel noticed Ross standing in the living room, looking out the back window. She could swear that he stood taller and straighter then she had ever seen him.

She shook her head. _'What is wrong with me? He's Monica's geeky older brother who has, according to her, a crush on me. I'm with Chip.'_

Before Rachel was out the door, Judy walked in from the kitchen.

"Rachel dear, do you want to stay for dinner?"

"No thank you, Mrs. Geller, my parents are waiting for me." Rachel said with slight sadness. The Geller cooking was always amazing. With a few more words of good-bye, Rachel left the house and walked the half mile distance home.

* * *

When the Gellers said at the table eating, As they finished and started picking up the dishes, Monica decided, now would be a good time as any to tell her parents of her plans.

"Mom, Dad, I want to go to a fitness camp during the summer."

"Why, darling?" Judy asked.

"Because I am sick and tired of being overweight. I want to lose weight and enjoy living more. I want to jog a mile without getting out of breath or being afraid of by knees giving way. I want to go to school without being snickered at, without enduring he laughter I get from all the thin girls. I... just want to live happier."

Her father got this facial expression again that said he had a great idea, at least in his mind.

"Harmonica, how convenient. Ross is going to a sports camp during the summer, you can go together." he said, smiling.

Ross and Monica exchanged an exasperated look.

"Oh no." both sighed in unison.

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2: On their way

**Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the friends. If I did, the show'd be still on the air :D**

**Chapter 2: On their way  
**

Day of the finals. The day when almost every student becomes an aggravated, nervous wreck, running around in circles, awaiting little pieces of paper filled with series' of words that end with question marks.

Of course, in those cases these students were those who spent the rest of the school year messing around, chasing girls or boys instead of learning.

Then there were those who knew that it doesn't matter how much fun you want to have in school, if you fail at the end it was all for nothing.

Two of those people were Ross and Monica.

As Rachel looked up from her math test she looked at Monica and saw her writing and writing, solving the terms one by one. She envied her that. She remembered her saying that she got help from her brother. Of course she had an advantage in that area since her brother had the same test only a year before.

Maybe she should have asked Ross for private lessons. He was intelligent and kind and would surely have said yes. _'What am I thinking? He's a geek. I can't hang around with a geek.'_ But since she saw him yesterday she had more and more difficulties keeping that geek image of him in her mind although he didn't look any different.

"15 minutes left people." the teacher said.

Rachel started panicking, she had again been daydreaming for several minutes without even realizing it. She turned her attention back to her paper and started calculating.

* * *

Ross was finished. Last final of the day done. His learning efforts proved fruitful as he had sailed through every test. Now he would go home and start a new chapter in his life. He would work out hard at the fitness camp and also change his appearance somewhat. Lately he realized how ridiculous he looked with an afro.

Just then he saw his sister and Rachel exiting their class room. As he walked over, Rachel's boyfriend Chip exited the classroom and was clearly in a bad mood. He gave Rachel a slap on the butt, earning a surprised and somewhat annoyed yelp from her.

"Damn, I must have missed most of the questions." he heard Chip say as he closed the distance between them.

When he had reached them, Chip turned his head to him and directed an angry look at Ross.

"What do you want, Geller."

"I want to talk to my sister, what business is that of yours?" Ross retorted. He turned his attention to Monica. "Remember to pack, we're going tomorrow."

"Yeah okay, I'll better go home with you now."

"Wait, where are you two going tomorrow? Monica, I thought you had special plans for the summer?" Rachel asked confused.

"Yes, it turnes out, Ross had the same idea before me and now have to go together." Monica answered petulantly.

"Yes, I really look forward to spend my whole summer with you." Ross said to her sarcastically.

"Well, anyway" Monica cut in "have fun with your relatives Rachel."

"Thanks, and can I visit you in your camp?" Rachel asked.

"Sure. I will call you tonight and give you the address, alright?" Monica said and hugged Rachel. Both she and Ross turned to leave. As they were leaving, Ross turned to Chip.

"Have fun at summer school, Chip." he said, smirking.

"Screw you Geller!"

* * *

As Rachel sat in her bedroom, contemplating what she would do during the summer, her phone rang.

"Hello" she said, answering it.

"Hi, it's Monica. I wanted to give you the address of the camp."

As Rachel wrote down the address, Monica continued.

"So, what are your summer plans?"

"Can I tell you a secret? I'm thinking about breaking up with Chip." Rachel said in a low voice.

"What? Why?" Monica was clearly surprised. She always thought, their relationship was going great.

"Because he has changed." said Rachel. "At the beginning he was really sweet, but lately he lets his mean self come out more and more. He called me a bitch, for crying out loud, when I refused to let him take me home on his bike yesterday. Also, he's always playing his computer games and ignores me until he wants something."

"Wow, I never expected that." Monica replied. "But you should do what you think is best. And I would love to talk more to you but we have to leave early tomorrow so I have to go to bed now. Have a great summer and don't forget, you promised to visit."

Rachel couldn't help but smile at her best friends optimism. Sometimes she wished she was a real member of the Geller household, they were so different from her own. Every time she was in their house, she saw the warmth and love their parents had for Monica and her brother, even though her mother oftentimes treated Ross better.

She knew that her own parents loved all their children but during family gatherings she always felt a coldness between all of them. She would constantly argue with her sisters and come to think of it, she never saw her parents kiss each other in public unlike Judy and Jack Geller.

And she knew from Monica that if she or Ross had a problem or were sad about something, their parents would do something about it and talk to them. Her own parents solved problems by buying stuff for her and her siblings.

With a sigh, she picked up the phone to call Chip. No time like now to resolve the problem that used to be her dream relationship.

* * *

Ross was sitting on the living room couch reading his science magazine when he heard the doorbell ring. As he walked towards the door, he noticed that the house was strangely quiet._ 'Did mom and dad took Monica somewhere again without telling me?' _he thought to himself.

He opened the door and saw Rachel standing outside.

"Hey you." she said.

That was odd. She had never talked to him that way. Come to think of it, she has never really talked to him at all when they were alone. Usually only when Monica was with them and started a conversation where he could contribute.

"Um... hey Rachel. Want to come in?"

"Yes, I'd like that very much." Rachel said with a flirty tone to her voice.

_'What's going on here?'_ Ross thought to himself. As Rachel walked past him he noticed, that she was sashaying seductively. Ross shook his head to get the image out of his mind. Soon she reached the couch and set down. Ross followed her and decided to break the silence.

"Rachel, what are you doing here?"

"Well" she started, again with that flirty undertone in her voice. "my math finals were a disaster and I heard, you are good in math, so I thought you could teach me a little."

"Erm... uh... o-okay" Ross stuttered. Damn, he just got over the crush on her, why was he so nervous.

"That really would be great, sweetie." Rachel said, putting her hand on his knee.

Ross' heart started pounding in his chest. He couldn't believe what was happening. Here he was, a geek and the hottest girl in the entire school was flirting with him. As he looked at her he noticed her staring right at him. She had the most amazing blue eyes he had ever seen and they looked at him with what seems like hunger.

Suddenly she closed the distance between them. For Ross, everything happened in slow motion. He saw, with perfect clarity, her eyes closing slowly while her lips parted millimeter by millimeter. He completely freezes up, not able to move as her lips connect with his own. Before he can even respond to the kiss, her hands were on his cheeks, the kiss deepening.

Finally, Ross roused from his stupor and started kissing her back all the while wondering what in the name of all that's good and pure is going on. Where were his parents and sister? Why is Rachel kissing him? Why is he questioning and not enjoying this?

That last question broke a barrier inside him and he responded to the kiss in passion. As Rachel realized this, her tongue started exploring his mouth and he reciprocated with a fervor he never thought he possessed.

As his hands wandered down her body to explore her curves, a moan escaped her lips. He noticed something was amiss when that moan transformed into a horrible sound the human body should be incapable of producing. He opened his eyes in horror when that sound didn't stop and found himself facing his beeping alarm clock with a large red blinking 4:30 on its face.

Frustrated he hit the snooze button and fell down on his cushion. Lying there he remembered his dream and what it symbolized in terms of the crush he had on Rachel. A crush he thought he was over.

"Oh no." he said to himself.

* * *

Ross stood in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing his teeth. As he circled the toothbrush around in his mouth, he thought about the dream he had.

_'Easy Ross, it meant nothing. She has a new nose and she looks even more beautiful than before. You had a crush on her and it came back a little. But she is in a relationship with the cutest boy in school. No chance for you, you geek. Get over it.' _His reverie was interrupted by a loud knock on the bathroom door.

"Get a move on loser, other people need to use the shower."

Ross sighed and gargled. Leave it to Monica to bring him back to reality. _'At least, when I'm back from camp it's over with being a loser.'_ At least he hoped so. He exited the bathroom, earning a scowl from Monica as she rushed in.

Down in the kitchen, Judy was busy making breakfast.

"Ross, come help me set the table. We have to leave soon if we want to reach the train station."

"Okay mom, I'll be right down."

* * *

After saying their goodbyes to their parents, Ross and Monica sat in their cabin, watching the landscape go by as it was starting to get illuminated by the ever growing amount of daylight. Thinking about the fact that he had to spend the summer with his sister, he thought about a different approach.

"Hey Monica?" he said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"What?" she asked back, sounding both angry and exasperated.

"I've been thinking." he stated. "Since we both are trying to start a new chapter in our lives, how about we agree on a truce?"

By the look on her face, he must have suggested something in regard to eating a baby with its parents watching.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Well, I know that mom and dad treat me better than you. Or at least mom does. And I know that you pretty much hate my guts because of that. But we are going to spend the entire summer together, so I don't want us fighting all the time. I mean, you are my sister and I love you. I always gave you a hard time because you did it to me."

"I love you too, brother. And yes, a new beginning would be nice." Monica said, wiping a tear from her eyes.

Ross took her in his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Don't worry, sis. When we get back home, a new world will await us."

They spent the rest of the trip reading, playing cards and talking about their plans for the camp.

**A/N: Please read and review :) The next chapter shows Ross' and Monica's time during the camp. It could take a while longer though. It's already as long as this one and I'm have finished barely half of it O.o So either you need to wait or I release the next chapters as two-parters. Your choice, tell me in the review what you'd prefer :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Camp Life - Ross

**A/N: This and the next two chapters will take place in the same timeframe with the focus on different people. So some of the settings and dialog will be pretty much the same. Don't wonder, it's supposed to be like that :D**

**Please read and review  
**

**Chapter 3: Summer Life - Ross**

As they exited the train, they saw a row of buses standing adjacent to the train station. They made their to them, marveling at the number of other people going in the same direction. It was only a short bus ride to the camp.

As they got off the bus, they gasped in surprise at the beauty of the environment. The camp was situated at the foot of a small mountain, with trees surrounding it in every direction. The air was clear and there was a lake only a few hundred meters away.

After entering the compound itself, signs told them where to go. They entered a large building in the center of the camp and took seats at the back of the rows of benches. A young looking woman walked to the podium on the stage.

"Welcome to Camp Kayega Falls. My name is Fiona Wallis. We are also known as Camp Weight-loss because of our 100% success rate. After the introductions and orientation, we will give you chance to choose what you want to achieve here. There are courses for general weight loss, fitness and muscle buildup. We also give special courses in self defense, yoga and Tai Chi.

"Depending on the amount of people doing these courses, we will segregate them into gender and age groups. And last but not least, we offer a very tough course designed to bring you to your limits and beyond. But we must warn you, if you don't feel mentally up to it, don't choose it. It is a lot of workout and stamina training but it provides amazing results for those who can make it through the summer.

So, without further ado, I wish you good luck and if you have questions about the camp as a whole, don't hesitate to come to me. After you enrolled in the courses you wish to participate in, the coaches will explain your daily routine. If you decide to enroll in more than one course, try not to overlap them.

"Before you go, let me remind you that after you enrolled in the course of your choosing, we will have a healthy lunch and the workouts start this afternoon at 2 pm."

After a short applause, the people filed out of the hall. Ross turned to Monica.

"So, what will you do?"

"I think, I'll go to the weight loss course and see if they have a tough one at that. I plan to lose a lot of weight but I don't want it to be a risk to my health." Monica answered. "What about you?"

" I want to go to the tough fitness and muscle buildup and if I can fit it in, self defense and Tai Chi. I heard that Tai Chi is a great way to calm down."

"Wow, then good luck to you."

With these words they parted ways and went to enroll in the courses.

* * *

It has been two weeks. Two of the toughest weeks, he ever had endured. On his first day, he enrolled in the tough fitness and muscle growth group and he was happy that this enabled him to take Tai Chi and the base course for self defense too.

Of course, that meant he had almost 16 hours of the day filled with training, interrupted by healthy meals that needed some getting used to. He had experienced the palate during those last two weeks. They usually consisted of a lot of egg whites, skinless chicken, beans, rice, fish and soy beans. Dinner consisted usually of tuna, more egg whites and brown bread. There was nothing there he didn't like but he had never had seen some of those things mixed together like that.

On the first day he ran 10 miles. He ran track in school but doing a 10 mile run out of the blue had been hard. On the other hand, he immensely enjoyed the landscape. The route took him through the forest, along the shore of the lake and partially on the mountain.

Now it was almost 9 pm. The 14th day was over and with it came another exhaustion. During the past two weeks he had daily 10 mile runs in the morning after a light breakfast, followed by a two hour course of Tai chi. Then came lunch, a short break for digestion and 4 hours of pretty intense weight training. The evening hours were reserved for dinner and Jujutsu.

He immensely enjoyed Tai Chi. He took well to the moves and it really calmed him down. His teacher too was amazed at his level of progress and already let him do his own exercise most of the time.

The weight training hours were great as well. The trainer, a 6'7'' tall, 350 pound monster named James Morrison, put amazing plans together for training. No workout was the same. Sometimes they trained a single muscle group for hours, resulting in an exhausting yet exhilarating feeling of pudding arms, other days were filled exercises for every muscle group in his body.

The first few days of self defense were an eye opener for him. He was used to being pushed around by bullies who were usually bigger than him or in larger groups but his Jujutsu trainer was a 5'6'' petite, 24-year young Asian American woman named Kim Lee, who managed to throw him across the training mat at her leisure. She really showed him that it doesn't really matter how big your opponent is.

After the first two days he couldn't remember being in greater pain. His muscles were sore, he had bruises all over him from self defense training and he was exhausted after running so much. But he came through it. He came to love his days, even if he pretty much hadn't any free time.

He was standing in his cabin in front of the mirror and looked at himself. Although it only had been two weeks he could already see the changes. He was slimmer, his shoulders were broader and his muscles bigger and more defined. He even saw the beginning of a six-pack.

As he watched himself, he heard his roommate starting to snicker.

"Dude, get a room." he said, laughing.

"You're just jealous Chandler, that I look so much better than you." Ross replied smiling.

"If I did those 16 hour days like you do, I would look the same. You're insane you know that? You do so many different things, that you won't get good at one of them." Chandler said. "And sure, the girls will jump on you until they see your haircut, Mister Kotter."

Ross glared at him and stormed out, grabbing his shirt on the way.

"Where are you going?" Chandler yelled after him.

"The barber." Ross shouted back.

"But I think it's already closed." Chandler shouted but Ross was already out of earshot.

* * *

Ross was sitting in the barber's chair, seeing his afro disappear bit by bit in the mirror. The barber was about to close when he arrived but one look at Ross' hair convinced him to do a last job for the day.

"Okay Mister Geller, you're done. But I would really suggest you shave that mustache off, that's going to make your look even better." the barber said smiling.

"I completely agree. I'll do it first thing tomorrow morning." Ross replied, turning his head slightly and watching himself in the mirror.

"If you want, I can do it now. It'll only take two minutes." the barber said.

"Really? That would be awesome." Ross answered happily.

* * *

As the barber promised, the shave took only less than two minutes. A bit of shaving foam and a few quick swings with the razor blade and his mustache was gone. He rubbed his now hairless upper lip area, wondering what his family would say to his new look.

As he was turning around he bumped into someone.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." he said to the person he hit.

"That's okay. Nothing happened." came the reply.

"Miss Lee? I didn't recognize you at first. Please don't throw me around now." Ross said smiling.

"Ross? What happened to you? You look so much different than before." Kim replied.

"I just got a haircut and a shave. Is the difference that extreme?" Ross asked.

"Well, if you hadn't said anything, I probably wouldn't have recognized you." Kim got thoughtful. "Listen, you want to go to the juice bar? I'd like to talk to you about your training."

"Yeah, sure." Ross replied and they walked the short distance. The bar was a square hall filled with tables of different sizes for two to eight people and a long bar with a dozen bar stools. The walls were multicolored and draped with posters of famous athletes who allegedly visited this camp once.

The bar was pretty full, so Ross and Kim took seats on bar stools at the end of the counter. After they ordered their drinks, Kim turned to Ross.

"Listen, I saw that you are very focused during your training. Steve told me, that you made amazing progress in the Tai Chi class." Kim started.

"Steve?" Ross interrupted.

"Master Boyd, your Tai Chi teacher. Anyway, I like your dedication to learning Jujutsu but you have to realize that it takes years of training to get good at it. In these 8 weeks we can cover the basics but that's about it."

"But you are very young and amazingly good at it." Ross said, interrupting again.

"I'm doing this since I was seven years old which means I've been at it for 17 years. That's why I have a proposition for you. And please believe me when I say I don't want to get rid of you." Kim said smiling. "Steve is offering advanced classes that incorporate Wushu in the excercises which is kind of a fast version of Tai Chi and can be used as a martial arts fighting form.

"If you want the take the greatest amount of knowledge home, I'd advise you to do those instead of Jujutsu because of you already learned the basic moves in the Tai Chi course. And you can't do both courses because they are scheduled at the same time."

"That is an amazing idea. But I admit, I will mist the others." Ross said.

"Just because you changed courses doesn't mean you can't hang out. We do it right now, do we not?" Kim said, smiling.

Ross turned his back to the counter and observed room. He wasn't looking at anyone in particular but let Kim's words sink in. He did want to learn a form of martial arts, he just always figured that self defense would be the thing for him. But Kim was right, he did very well in Tai Chi and had the moves memorized.

"You know what, Miss Lee? You're right. I will talk to Master Boyd tomorrow morning during the exercises."

"That's great Ross. And you can call me Kim."

"Okay... Kim."

As Ross turned around to observe the room, he heard a familiar voice. He went over to a bunch of girls around a table. Then he saw her. He hadn't seen her in the last two weeks because his training schedule gave him almost no spare time at all. She got a haircut as well and by the looks of it already lost some weight.

"Excuse me, Kim" Ross said, getting up. He went over to the table from which he heard the voice.

"Monica?" he said to the familiar looking figure of his sister.

"Yes?" Monica said, turning around. She looked at him for a few seconds before realizing who he was.

"Oh my god, Ross, is that you?"

"Yep, it's me." Ross said smiling. "Man, look at you, you have changed."

"I could say the same." she told him, also smiling.

He looked at her. More closely. Her hair was shorter than before and straighter.

"So, how goes the weight-loss program?" Ross asked her.

"Great, I already dropped 25 pounds during the last two weeks." Monica answered proudly.

"Isn't that somewhat risky? I read that you shouldn't lose more than two to three pounds in a week."

"Normally yes, but they have a full exercise program and we eat a lot. I never thought I could diet with so much food. It's all healthy stuff, salads and vegetables but we also get chicken and fish. And so far I haven't experienced any side effects. We're also told that we should say something if we think anything is wrong with us."

She turned around when she heard someone clear her throat and back to Ross.

"Where are my manners." she said smiling, stepping aside to clear the view for him to the table. "Ross, these are my roommates here, Theresa, Sandra, Melanie and Vivian."

"Nice to meet you." Ross said to the four, shaking each of their hands. "I'm her geeky older brother.

"But I'd love to hang out here and chat but I really have to go to bed now. My day starts really early and I need my sleep." he said grinning. "Listen Monica, tomorrow I will rearrange some of my schedule. You want to hang out together a few times? I introduce to my roommate, his name is Chandler."

"Yeah, that would be nice." she said.

He waved goodbye and started to leave. On his way out he could hear Monica's friends say things like 'That's your brother?' or 'God, he's so hot.' Especially that last thing put a smile on his face that never left his face on his way back to his room or in the shower until he lay in bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Two more weeks went by. Per Kim's recommendation, he switched from Jujutsu to the advanced Tai Chi class. After a short acclimatization period, he found it a great sport to do. It was physical, fast and the training didn't allow for lapses in concentration if one didn't want bruises or worse. And it gave him tremendous confidence.

His daily ten mile runs have become more easy as time went by. When before he was completely out of breath, now he felt he could run another ten miles. He took to swimming in the lake after his runs.

He got together with Monica almost every evening since their encounter in the bar. They usually chatted about anything and nothing in particular, about the events of their days or whatever. As promised, he introduced Chandler to her and the two hit it off immediately. At first he was apprehensive about a possible relationship between the two but they would part ways at the end of the summer and probably never see each other again and furthermore, Monica could do worse than Chandler. He was a great guy and funny although sometimes his jokes were too much.

On his runs through the woods he let his thoughts roam. One day he thought about Rachel and it surprised and pleased him that it was the first time he thought of her during his entire stay at camp. It proved the old saying: to overcome the feelings for someone, keep away from them. Of course, in some cases, the effect is opposite but his lack of mental pictures of her during the last month strengthened his belief to have overcome his crush.

One day, that all changed.

* * *

It was on a Sunday and as usual on Sunday there were no classes and everyone was allowed to do what they want within certain boundaries. They weren't allowed to eat a bowl of chocolates or bags of chips.

He was swimming again after finishing his morning run. It was already hot and not even lunchtime. When he got out of the water he noticed someone standing only a few feet away. As he turned around to look more closely he froze up completely.

For several seconds he could do nothing, say nothing, couldn't even breathe. He saw her with her bronze skin and blond hair, wearing a sky blue bikini with flower motives. She was breathtaking. He had never seen her in a bikini before and now there she was, standing in front of him in all her glory.

As he looked at her he noticed that her gaze was not on his eyes or face. It was way down on his body and her eyes were wide. Inwardly he grinned. He could see the effect his new body had on her and he cheered in his mind. On one hand wasn't so sure if he wanted to go down that road again, him having a crush on her while she doesn't reciprocate.

On the other hand, right now he so wanted her in his arms, feeling her skin against his, his lips on hers. It was almost painful to think and he quickly recovered from that thought. He decided to talk to her before he did anything stupid.

"Rachel"? He asked, pretending to just having recognized her.

"Ross?" came the reply.

Again, a pause. Neither one seemed to be able to speak. Both continued just looking at each other. Again he decided to talk first.

"What are you doing here?"

"I-I-I'm visiting Monica." she stammered.

He could see that she was flustered by his appearance and she still had difficulties looking him in the eyes.

"Okay, then where is she?" he asked her.

"Well, we met this guy Chandler when we went to this bar and they began talking and pretty much ignored me and I got bored and wanted to sunbath and remembered this beach because Monica showed me and I came here and saw you and now I'm standing here talking to you and..."

"Rachel, for the love of god, breath." Ross said, chuckling. He kind of like the fact that she seemed so extremely nervous around him. "If you want to sunbath, no one is stopping you."

"Right. Uh... do you... uh... want to hang out with me a bit?" she asked.

"I'd love to." Ross answered and shrugged his shoulders. "But I don't have a blanket with me, only a small towel."

"You can lie on my blanket with me, it's large enough for two." Rachel said, smiling.

"Okay, sounds great." Ross said, helping her spreading out the blanket and lying down on it.

When he was down on his back he saw Rachel sitting back up again and starting to rub sunscreen on herself. He found it impossible not to stare. She rubbed it slowly on her legs and arms and then her stomach and chest and her face and to top it off she was moaning slightly! It was like deliberate torture on her part. As if she could read his mind, she turned to him smiling.

"Can you rub some on my back?"

_'Are you crazy? Do you want me to explode?'_ Ross thought. Instead he smiled and said "Sure, no problem."

He took the tube of sunscreen and she turned her back on him and moved the hair away from her neck. When he got closer he could smell the residue of her coconut shampoo. My god, how great she smelled.

"What takes so long?" Rachel asked over her shoulder.

"Sorry." Ross answered, embarrassed and hoping, she didn't notice the reason for his delay.

He started to put the sunscreen on her back and purposely did it slowly so he could enjoy the physical contact. A voice in his head told him it was wrong to go down that road but in that moment, Ross decided he couldn't care less.

* * *

After he rubbed some of Rachel's sunscreen on himself they both lay silently on her blanket for about an hour. When he opened his eyes again he noticed Rachel lying closer to him than before. He shook her slightly to get her attention.

"Rachel? It's almost noon, you want to grab some lunch?"

"Already?" Rachel said, taking her watch from her bag and looking at it. "I really wanted to go in the water."

"And why don't you? The water is great and not even cold." Ross said.

"Will you come with me please?" Rachel asked him, looking at him like a puppy and slightly pouting her lower lip.

Ross found it impossible to resist that look so he simply got up and offered her his hand to help her up which she readily accepted. As both got closer to the water, Ross started running and was under water after ten strides. When he resurfaced, he saw her standing close to the shore with the water only up to her knees.

"You said the water wasn't cold, it's freezing." she complained.

"Because you were in the sun for so long, your skin is heated up and that's why you feel it so cold. Come in, once you get used to it, it's amazing." he explained to her but seeing her doubts at his words.

"No, that's really too cold for me, I'm going out again." she said, turning around.

"Rachel, wait." Ross said, closing in on her. "I know what to do."

"What..." was all Rachel could say before he scooped her up in his arms and started walking her into the deeper parts. "Ross, are you crazy? Put me down!" she complained, holding tight to him.

"No, you wanted to go into the water, I'm just fulfilling you wish." he said to her as he kept walking.

He was already waist deep and held her a bit higher to his chest. He enjoyed holding her, while she clung tightly to him.

"I mean it Ross, put me down right now!" Rachel basically shouted.

"Your wish is my command." he said grinning and without thinking gave her a small peck on the cheek before simply letting her go. As she splashed into the water, he quickly swam away a few feet to be away from any instinctive reaction of revenge from her.

He was about 3 feet away when she resurfaced, sputtering and visibly upset.

"YOU JERK!" she screamed at him. "Why did you do this?"

Ross couldn't help himself and started laughing. That seemed to infuriate her even more and before he knew it he felt her hands on his head, pressing him under water. Whether she intended it or not, that move pressed her chest right in his face. Realizing his face was right between her breasts, the breath he was holding went out of him immediately and his eyes widened so much he felt his eyeballs could fall out.

Even worse, he felt himself get aroused, and having her legs around his hips didn't help matters. All it took for her was to slide a few inch down his waist to feel his arousal and it could become awkward very quickly.

He gently pushed her away and surfaced to get some much needed air into his lungs. He looked at Rachel and saw her suppressing a smile.

"Rachel, I'm really sorry but come on, it was fun." he said smiling.

"Yeah, it was. And you were right, the water really is amazing."

"Come on, lets swim to those buoys there, they're about 300 yards away. Gives a nice little workout." he said, and started swimming. He turned his head and saw her following. Fixing his eyes forward he kept thinking about bread and stones to lose his arousal before they got out of the water.

* * *

90 minutes later they were sitting in the campus cafeteria, enjoying a late lunch. Ross' consisted of his usual skinless chicken with rice, salad and a yoghurt based, fat-free dressing. Since Rachel's status as visitor didn't bind her to the menu rules of camp, she was able to choose as she pleased and took pasta with bolognese sauce.

As they were eating, Ross longingly looked at her plate.

"What?" she asked him, when she noticed him staring.

"Uh, nothing. I just realized how much I miss pasta. And pizza. And sweets." he answered and got back to his own food.

"That bad?" she asked.

"No, the food here tastes amazing, but after a month you're pretty much through the available menu that you can eat here and it's starting to get repetitive. But, you play you pay."

He was clearing his plate when she spoke up again.

"So, what exactly are you doing here? I mean, I know that Monica is doing weight-loss training and it really pays off by the looks of it and I can see you have changed tremendously,"

"Well," Ross started to explain, while she kept eating "in the morning I do Tai Chi, then I go running and swimming. Then it's lunch time, a short break and then it's off to the weight rooms for a few hours. In the evening I have advanced Tai Chi or Wushu, which is a form of martial arts that I lean as self defense."

"So, Tai Chi isn't martial arts?" Rachel asked confused.

"Yes and no. It's more a form of meditation because you do it really slow. I mean if you speed up the moves then yes, it could be used as a martial art form and that's basically what I do in the evenings. I'm getting pretty good." Ross proudly stated.

"That's great. Maybe you can teach me some when you're back home?"

Ross thought about that. Teaching her would give him the opportunity to spend a lot of time with her. _'But do I really want to have a crush on her again? Being with her almost every day will surely ruin my chances of meeting other girls, especially when I start comparing all other girls to Rachel.'_

"Sure, why not." was the only thing he could say after seeing the pleading look in her eyes. It seemed to him that something must happened for her to so desperately wanting to learn either self defense or meditation techniques.

"By the way, when do you have to leave?" he asked her.

"My train leaves in about three hours, why?"

"Well, since you came here to visit Monica, you should really do that, shouldn't you?"

"Right, and I'll do that as soon as you can get a hacksaw and separate her from Chandler." she said laughing.

"Don't worry, we'll manage." he winked at her and put his dishes on the used dish rack.

* * *

They had looked for Monica in her room, the bars and other hangout spots but couldn't find her. Time ticked by and Rachel's departure time came closer and closer.

"Maybe they are in mine and Chandler's room." Ross stated. Inwardly he hoped that wasn't the case because it may implicate more than just a camp friendship. Although he still thought that she could do much worse, she still was his little sister.

"Then lets check there." Rachel said.

Both went to Ross' and Chandler's room but it also was empty. Both sighed as Ross threw his bag on the floor.

"So, this is where you sleep, huh?" Rachel asked, pointing to one of the beds with dinosaur sheets.

"Yeah, kinda obvious, isn't it?" he answered grinning. "Listen Rach, make yourself comfortable for a bit, I'm gonna change out of my swim trunks. Be right back." With that, he went outside to the bathrooms.

When he came back, he found Rachel sleeping on his bed. He checked his watch to confirm that he was only gone for a few minutes but still there she was, on his bed, sleeping. He smiled and knelt down next to her face.

He looked at her. Her breathing was slow and regular. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, like a bronze skinned, blond haired angel.

"You're so beautiful, you know that" he whispered. Then, without even thinking about it and what the repercussions might be for him, he added. "I love you."

His eyes went wide as the last three words left his mouth. He felt a knot form in his stomach as his mind processed what he just said. _'Why did I have to say that. I was so over her. Damn you hormones.'_

His thoughts made him shift his body, causing him to bump his leg against the bedpost which caused Rachel to open her eyes. She looked directly at him with her blue eyes that still seemed a bit clouded over. Before he could say anything else she leaned forward and kissed him directly on the lips.

She stopped immediately and covered her mouth with her eyes widening in surprise.

"I'm sorry." she said through her hand.

"It's okay" he said, smiling. "Thank you." He stood up and extended his hand. "Come on, I'll show you where the bathrooms are so you can change out of your bathing suit and then we go out for a walk until you have to leave."

"Great. Let's go." she said, grabbing his hand and getting pulled to her feet. They left his room and later went outside to enjoy the weather and keep looking for his sister.

Walking around camp, Ross felt Rachel put her arm through his. The strange thing about that was the complete lack of awkwardness of the gesture, it just felt right. They kept chatting about this and that and on their way, Ross saw a lot of the other boys of camp look at him with envy and the girls in camp look at Rachel with envy.

He was possibly looking at a month of teasing but right now he couldn't care less.

"Rachel!" they heard a voice yell from the distance. Rachel hurriedly took his arm out of Ross' and both turned around.

"Ah, there they are." Ross said when they saw Monica and Chandler closing in on them.

"Where have you been. We've been looking for you?" Monica practically screamed at her.

"Relax, you were so happy with him" she said pointing to Chandler. "I didn't want to be the third wheel. So I went to the beach you showed me, met Ross and we hung out and had lunch."

"Okay, want to hang out together, the four of us until you have to leave?" Monica asked.

"Sure" Ross said. "I know a great spot. I found it on one of my runs. Lets rent some bikes, it's a few miles from here."

* * *

The next two hours went by way too fast. They went to the hang out spot Ross discovered. They biked about 3 miles into the forest before turning onto a barely used narrow game path, that went uphill for about a mile. They parked the bikes next to a boulder and chained them together in the off chance of someone stumbling out of the woods and finding them.

Ross led them on a narrow path between some boulders that they could only walk single file. A right turn and 50 feet later, they cleared that path and came on a small plateau overlooking the valley in all its beauty. Ross could see from the expressions of his friends that the view made an impression on them.

"How did you find this?" Chandler asked him.

"On one of my runs I got curious where this path led and came across it. I sometimes to my own Tai Chi exercises here. I found it a great place to achieve calm. And it seems nobody else knows about it." he answered. "By the way Chandler, can I talk to you for a minute in private?"

"Sure." Chandler answered him and came over to the entrance to the plateau while Monica and Rachel still enjoyed the view and talked to each other.

"What's the deal with you and my sister?" he asked Chandler seriously.

"Wha...Wha...Wha... Why are you asking?" he stammered nervously.

"Well, lets see. You hang out with her more than I do, which is not that hard considering my schedule but what's more is that her best friend is visiting for a day after a month of not seeing each other and she pretty much ignores her for you. So, do you see why I ask?" Ross said, looking him in the eye.

"I-I-I like her, a lot. And I think she likes me as well. But we both know it's probably just for the summer. What are the chances of us meeting again after school."

"Relax Chan, I'm not mad at you. A little surprised and apprehensive of course, this is my sister we are talking about. But she could do worse than you."

"Oh, thanks a lot."

Both laughed and rejoined the girls. They stayed on the plateau, chatting and enjoying the afternoon sun until the time came for them to get back so Rachel could reach her ride home.

When they were standing next to her cab, Rachel shook Chandlers hand, hugged Monica tightly and then stood before Ross. He smiled and hold out his hand and was surprised when she stepped in and gave him a long and deep hug that seemed to last minutes for him. At last she parted from him and with a last wave stepped into the cab.

"Bye Rach." he said, waving before the cab took off.

With a last look at the departing cab they turned around and went back on the camp grounds.

* * *

The last weeks went by. Their parents were back from their vacation and now they had daily phone calls with them. They promised them a surprise for when they were back home.

Ross continued his daily training regime. His Tai Chi has become so good, that he got the permission to lead his own group through the exercises. During his runs he went to the plateau and did some stick fight training that he got some manuals from Master Boyd from. Sometimes he lost track of time and had to skip his swimming and almost sprint back to camp to not miss lunch and the beginning of the weight training.

He never thought to be so adept at a martial arts form. He enjoyed the feeling of strength and confidence his abilities gave him. He knew never to use them in any way except self defense or the defense of his friends or loved ones.

He started wondering how he could keep up his training at home. The running and Tai chi was not that hard he could do the latter in his parents' garden and the former just by using the forest and parks in town. But for the weight-lifting parts he probably will have to start a gym membership.

He also couldn't stop thinking about Rachel. Knowing he was over his crush on her and after a few hours in her company, everything was back to the beginning. But she had kissed him. Why did she kiss him? He wasn't in the frame of mind at the time to ask her about it and later they were never alone.

His thoughts about her accompanied him every day in the forest when he was pumping his lungs full of forest air and letting his muscles burn with the exhilarating pain of exhaustion.

* * *

The end of camp came sooner than expected. One day they got up and didn't start a class. He never got on a run. They had their last breakfast and then it was time to pack. They were standing in front of their bus, saying goodbye to Chandler. His train home left later, so he took a later bus.

"Chandler, remember our promise. Next year, after high school, we'll be roommates at NYU." Ross said.

"You got it, my man." Chandler said back and they hugged.

Ross then had to turn around in slight disgust when he saw his sister giving Chandler a long kiss as goodbye. If they really wanted to start a relationship he wouldn't stand against it but it would always be weird seeing his best friend kissing his sister.

And even the longest goodbye is over at one point and soon they were both sitting next to each other on the train, watching the landscape go by on their way back home.


	4. Chapter 4: Camp Life - Monica

**Chapter 4: Summer Life – Monica**

As they exited the train, they saw a row of buses standing adjacent to the train station. They made their to them, marveling at the number of other people going in the same direction. It was only a short bus ride to the camp.

As they got off the bus, they gasped in surprise at the beauty of the environment. The camp was situated at the foot of a small mountain, with trees surrounding it in every direction. The air was clear and there was a lake only a few hundred meters away.

After entering the compound itself, signs told them where to go. They entered a large building in the center of the camp and took seats at the back of the rows of benches. A young looking woman walked to the podium on the stage.

"Welcome to Camp Kayega Falls. My name is Fiona Wallis. We are also known as Camp Weight-loss because of our 100% success rate. After the introductions and orientation, we will give you chance to choose what you want to achieve here. There are courses for general weight loss, fitness and muscle buildup. We also give special courses in self defense, yoga and Tai Chi.

"Depending on the amount of people doing these courses, we will segregate them into gender and age groups. And last but not least, we offer a very tough course designed to bring you to your limits and beyond. But we must warn you, if you don't feel mentally up to it, don't choose it. It is a lot of workout and stamina training but it provides amazing results for those who can make it through the summer.

So, without further ado, I wish you good luck and if you have questions about the camp as a whole, don't hesitate to come to me. After you enrolled in the courses you wish to participate in, the coaches will explain your daily routine. If you decide to enroll in more than one course, try not to overlap them.

"Before you go, let me remind you that after you enrolled in the course of your choosing, we will have a healthy lunch and the workouts start this afternoon at 2 pm."

After a short applause, the people filed out of the hall. Ross turned to Monica.

"So, what will you do?" he asked

"I think, I'll go to the weight loss course and see if they have a tough one at that. I plan to lose a lot of weight but I don't want it to be a risk to my health." Monica answered. "What about you?"

" I want to go to the tough fitness and muscle buildup and if I can fit it in, self defense and Tai Chi. I heard that Tai Chi is a great way to calm down."

"Wow, then good luck to you."

With these words they parted ways and went to enroll in the courses.

As Monica saw her brother enroll in his courses, she went to the weight-loss program. She saw the line of girls and some boys in front of the booth. They were in most cases more overweight than her. She knew it was mean but it already made her feel better.

After she put her name on the list, their trainer turned to them.

"Boys and girls, I'm your trainer Megan Smith. Gather your stuff and follow me." their trainer, a burly looking female, said.

As they were walking towards their building, Monica looked towards the mountains in the background. It sure was beautiful here. A forest stretched on two sides of the camp and she could see the water of a lake glinting on the third side.

They entered a building, went up two flights of stairs and turned left to a long corridor with several doors on both sides.

"Okay kids, here we are. These are your rooms. There are 6 rooms, 4 of them for 5 people each and the other two have four beds. Since we have four boys with us, they will share one room. The girls in the other rooms. Choose your rooms, put your bags on your beds and meet me in front of the building and I'll give you an overview of what your days will be from now on."

Monica went into the first room on the left and put her bag on the lower bed of one of the bunk beds. She turned to the other girls in the room.

"Hi, I'm Monica." she said.

"Theresa."

"Sandra."

"Melanie."

"Vivian." the other girls introduced themselves.

They all put their bags on the beds and went back outside. The trainer was already waiting.

"Now that we are gathered here, let me tell you how this works" Megan started. "First of all, you can call me Megan, you don't need to say Misses Smith. Second, here is what your days will be from now on.

"You'll be waken up at 8 am. You have 30 minutes for your morning routine, which means shower, brushing teeth and everything else you need to do in the morning. Don't bother with make-up, you won't need it and you will sweat so much that it will run anyway.

"Sundays will be free, you can do whatever you want within certain boundaries. That mostly means culinary boundaries. We will give you a full diet plan that you will have to abide by and that means no sugar or other simple carbohydrates.

"In terms of sports activities, we won't throw you into hard cardio training right away. Also we won't let you jog. Your knees wouldn't take the strain. So the first two weeks we will put you on indoor training machines like indoor bikes and cross-trainers.

"Now to your diet plan. Your menus will consist primarily of skinless chicken, fish, egg-whites and vegetables. In the evening you only get light foods and vegetables. And if you long for a snack, you can eat a cucumber or tomato. You won't find anything like chips or ice cream here.

And now come with me, I'll show you the important areas.

After they were shown the fitness rooms, canteen and juice bar they had their first lunch. As Megan said, it consisted of skinless chicken, some beans and vegetables. Monica relished the fact that it filled her stomach but didn't consist of fatty things.

Once lunch was over, they had a short rest period and then they were led to their first course. Monica never stood on a cross-trainer before and she had difficulties coordinating her hand and feet movements.

"Well boys and girls, lets get started. On the right side of the inner handholds is a wheel that regulates the resistance. Clockwise increases the resistance and counter-clockwise decreases it. For now, leave it on low resistance and get used to it. Do a 60 minute program, then we'll see how you held up and therefore how intense I can make your personal programs."

No more words were needed. They did their 60 minutes on the cross-trainers. For Monica it was the most miserable time she had in a long time. She never ran or jogged or even walked for 60 straight minutes without a break. Sweat was running down her brow and back and by the time she was done her shirt was soaked.

The others weren't any better. Some were wheezing like a steam engine, others were sitting on the floor, unable to stand. Although her own legs were shaking, Monica felt great. Her heart was beating fast, pumping blood into muscles that she never used in such a way. Right there she promised herself, that she would never give up. Her goal was set. She wanted to lose at least 10 pounds a week. She would do every exercise to the fullest, and if her time allowed it, do some in her free time.

Never again would she hear the word MoniCow from the other students in school. She would show them.

Two weeks went by. The first few days were torture. Her muscles were aching so bad, she had a hard time getting up in the morning. But as the days passed, it got better. Her leg muscles got used to their daily heavy use and her body started reacting to the increased energy demand.

The meals they were served didn't give her body the amount of energy it needed for her daily schedule. When, after a week, she stepped on a scale, she felt bliss when she saw that she had dropped 12 pounds. It gave her the incentive to not give up. She upped her daily exercise, increasing the resistance on the bikes and cross-trainers.

A week ago, she went jogging for the first time. She never did it before, except for short runs in PE. After an hour, her feet were hurting so much, it became almost impossible to walk back to camp. But she was sure that, as her body had before, her feet will get used to it.

No she was sitting in the juice bar during a beautiful evening and was celebrating with her roommates. Every one made progress. So far, Monica has lost 25 pounds, more than any other boy or girl in her group. Her clothes started to get way too big for her.

She also had decided to change her appearance. She had the camp barber cut her hair and stopped using a curler and now her hair was straighter.

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice.

"Monica?"

"Yes?" she said, turned around and saw a strange looking young man. It took a few moments to finally recognize him.

"Oh my god, Ross, is that you?"

"Yep, it's me." Ross said, smiling. "Man, look at you, you have changed."

"I could say the same." she told him, also smiling.

"So, how goes the weight-loss program?" he asked her.

"Great, I already dropped 25 pounds during the last two weeks." she answered proudly.

"Isn't that somewhat risky? I read that you shouldn't lose more than two to three pounds in a week."

"Normally yes, but they have a full exercise program and we eat a lot. I never thought I could diet with so much food. It's all healthy stuff, salads and vegetables but we also get chicken and fish. And so far I haven't experienced any side effects. We're also told that we should say something if we think anything is wrong with us."

She turned around when she heard someone clear her throat and back to Ross.

"Where are my manners." she said smiling, stepping aside to clear the view for him to the table. "Ross, these are my roommates here, Theresa, Sandra, Melanie and Vivian."

"Nice to meet you." Ross said to the four, shaking each of their hands. "I'm her geeky older brother.

"But I'd love to hang out here and chat but I really have to go to bed now. My day starts really early and I need my sleep." he said grinning. "Listen Monica, tomorrow I will rearrange some of my schedule. You want to hang out together a few times? I introduce to my roommate, his name is Chandler."

"Yeah, that would be nice." she said.

He left the bar and she sat back down. Her roommates all looked at her.

"What?" she asked them.

"Seriously Monica" Vivian said, "when were you going to tell us that your super hot brother is also here at camp? And what is he here for anyway? He already looks so amazing."

Monica couldn't help but laugh. Her roommates were practically drooling over her brother.

"He is here for the same reason as me. We both want to turn our lives around, but he is more into weight training and martial arts. And believe me, he didn't look like that before. He had a ridiculous afro and mustache."

"Well, now he is hot and you will tell us what he does so we can go and watch." Theresa said.

Monica laughed again and shook her head. She was tempted to tell them about his training just to see how he would react if they really would go watch.

Three days later, she was sitting in the juice bar again. She and Ross started hanging out together just as they had agreed.

"Monica?" he heard her brother say and turned around. She saw another guy with him. _'That must be his roommate Chandler. He's cute.'_

"Mon, this is Chandler, my roommate here. He's doing all of the stuff that I do here." Ross stated.

"Well, not all of it. Unlike your brother, I'm not insane." Chandler said.

"Hey!" Ross shouted, giving Chandler a stare.

Monica laughed at that. Yes, she and Chandler will have a great time, even if it's just bashing Ross.

A month was over. Already. Monica couldn't believe how fast the time went by. She stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and looked at her reflection. She couldn't believe the success this camp already gave her. Her weight-loss slowed down as the weeks progressed, which was to be expected as her body got used to the exercise but she had almost lost 45 pounds in those 4 weeks.

She and Ross hung out almost every day since they met each other two weeks ago in the bar. Looking back, it was strange that they didn't see each other at all during the first two weeks. And most of the time, he brought Chandler with him. The thought of him made her smile.

She had a platonic camp romance. She never would have dreamed about it but it was true. She spent more time with Chandler than with her own brother and despite the short time that she knew him it seemed to her she knew him all her life.

But today was a special day. Her best friend Rachel is coming today for her promised visit. She had the day planned out, with a tour of the camp, a visit in the nearby town and then to the beach for the rest of the day.

She took a cab to the train station and waited.

"Rachel!" Monica shouted and ran towards Rachel as she stepped from the train.

"Monica!" came the squealed reply and both hugged each other tight.

"Mon, look at you. You must have lost more than 50 pounds already." Rachel said.

"Not quite 50, but close. Come on, I'll tell you all about it once we're back in the camp. I have to show you around, it's amazing here."

"Sure, lets go."

Monica hailed another cab and a short ride later, both ended up at the entrance to the camp.

"Wow, it really is a beautiful landscape." Rachel said, as they entered the compound. "But Monica, don't you have courses to do?"

"No, it's Sunday. We can do whatever we want as long as it doesn't involve eating junk food." Monica answered. "A few people do sports stuff, but that is only voluntarily. My brother, for example, he runs daily, Sunday included."

"Will we meet him today?" Rachel asked. "I'm kind of curious how he has changed."

"Maybe, though I doubt it. He spends most of the time to himself doing his stuff. Him and I meet mostly in during evenings for an hour or so but other than that we rarely see each other. But enough of him, lets go. I have so much to show you."

And so they went. At first, Monica led Rachel to the beach.

"Look at this clear water. Last week I was here and the water is amazing. Back there behind those rocks is a smaller beach and it's rarely used by the others. If you want, we can go there later, then you won't have to suffer the looks of all those guys that will surely be here later." Monica said, winking at Rachel.

"Sure, I'd like that. I brought a bikini with me." Rachel answered.

"Great, now lets get back. I show you the camp."

"Wait, get back? Why didn't you show me the camp and the beach last? Then we could have stayed here." Rachel said.

"Right. I didn't think if that. Ah well, no reason to ponder that now. Come on."

It took them almost 20 minutes to walk back to the camp. Monica led Rachel to the dorm rooms.

"This is where I sleep." Monica said as she showed Rachel her room. "I share the room with 4 other girls. They are a nice bunch and since we're all the same here, nobody looks down on you. The next stop is the gym area."

The gym area was only a short distance away.

"This is the room where I left most of my weight." Monica explained grinning. The room was filled with cardio equipment. Indoor bikes, treadmills and cross-trainers along with stretching equipment.

After a minute or so, Monica almost dragged Rachel to the next place.

"On the left there you see the canteen and cafeteria where we eat our healthy meals. These is the hangout place of the people here, the juice bar. This is where Ross and I meet every evening to hang out."

Before Monica could say anything else, she spotted a familiar figure sitting at one of the tables, sipping juice and reading a book.

"Look, there is Ross' roommate Chandler, the one I told you about on the phone. Lets go meet him." Monica said, almost running into the bar without awaiting Rachel's reply.

"Hey Chandler, mind if we sit with you?" Monica asked him when she reached the table.

"Not at all. Have a seat." he replied.

"Chandler, I'd like you to meet my best friend from high school. This is Rachel Green." Monica said, pointing to Rachel.

"Pleasure to meet you." Chandler said to Rachel.

"Likewise." Rachel replied.

"So Chandler, where is Ross?" Monica asked.

"Where do you think?" Chandler answered. "He's doing the same thing he does every day, running out there in the forest. Mon, you're his sister, has he some issues with doing nothing? Apart from sleeping or eating, I think I have never seen him relax. The only exception is during our daily meetings in the evening."

"Don't get me started on him, I think he wants to prove something to himself or he finally went over the edge of crazy." Monica said, laughing. "Listen, I wanted to ask you something. The other day you said something about your father..."

As both sunk into the conversation, neither of them realized that the third person sitting at the table was no longer there.

"...and then I heard him say 'That was great, lets do it again sometimes.'. But when I saw another man come out of his bedroom I realized I couldn't stay at home during the summer. So I came here." Chandler said.

Monica smiled. Talking to Chandler it seemed she knew him all her life. He was witty, funny and had his own type of charm. And he wasn't judging her by her appearance.

"Uh, Monica?"

"Yes?"

"Where's your friend? What was her name, Rachel?" Chandler asked, pointing at the empty chair next to Monica.

"Well, she's... oh my god. Where did she go? Where did she go?!" Monica yelled, getting up.

"How would I know, I just realized it."

"Dammit, lets go look for her."

"Relax Monica, maybe she just went to the beach. You told me you were planning it, remember?"

"I hope your right. That will be the first place for us to look."

"Wait a second, what do you mean by 'us'? You lost her."

"Yes, but you were the reason I lost her, so you will help me look. No more excuses, lets go." Monica said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the bar.

They both went to the beach and didn't find Rachel there. They checked the dorms, the gyms and the whole camp. They were on the verge of telling the camp manager about her disappearance when she spotted Rachel.

But she wasn't alone. She was walking arm in arm with the familiar looking figure of her brother. Monica slowed down and looked at them. They looked so relaxed together it was amazing, considering Rachel and Ross had barely exchanged words with each other the last few years.

"Rachel!" Monica yelled to get their attention. She saw Rachel take her arm out of Ross' as if stung. As she closed in on them, Chandler trailing behind her, she couldn't help but smile. There was obvious affection between Ross and Rachel.

"Where have you been. We've been looking for you?" Monica practically screamed at her.

"Relax, you were so happy with him" she said to her while pointing to Chandler. "I didn't want to be the third wheel. So I went to the beach you showed me, met Ross and we hung out and had lunch."

Monica took a deep breath. Suddenly she felt ashamed that she practically ditched her best friend, who came to visit for one day, for Chandler who she could see every day they were here.

"Okay, want to hang out together, the four of us until you have to leave?" Monica asked.

"Sure" Ross said. "I know a great spot. I found it on one of my runs. Lets rent some bikes, it's a few miles from here."

It took them a while to get to the place Ross described. A few miles into the forest, he led them uphill on a path that seemed barely used. After about a mile they came across a couple of boulders with the path winding through them.

They had to leave the bikes there because the path became too narrow for them. They chained them together and started walking single file on the path between the boulders. A right turn and 50 feet later the path opened up to a plateau.

Ross spread his arms in a presenting fashion and Monica walked forward with Rachel and Chandler. The view took her breath away. The plateau overlooked the whole valley, the lake on one side, the camp in the middle and the forest around it. It was a beautiful picture.

"How did you find this?" she heard Chandler asked and turned to him to hear the answer.

"On one of my runs I got curious where this path led and came across it. I sometimes do my own Tai Chi exercises here. I found it a great place to achieve calm. And it seems nobody else knows about it." Ross answered.

Monica turned back to the view and missed Ross whispering to Chandler and leading him away.

She walked towards Rachel who sat down on a flat rock and was looking at the valley.

"Listen Rachel, I'm sorry I got caught up in the conversation with Chandler. I was really looking forward to spend the day with you."

"It's okay. You and Chandler look cute together." Rachel replied, smiling.

"Thanks." Monica said, also smiling. "By the way, so do you and Ross."

"Shut up." Rachel said, a little too fast. "There's nothing going on between us."

"Ah come on. I saw you walking arm in arm like it was the most natural thing in the world. What happened between you two today?"

"Nothing. When you got caught up in your conversation I got up and went to the beach that you showed me. I was just about to lie down when Ross came out of the water. We talked and shared my blanket and went swimming and then he took me to lunch.

Then we went looking for you, he thought you were with Chandler in his room, so we looked there. You weren't there and we went out to look in other places and that's when you found us." Rachel finished.

"So, then what's with the arm in arm?"

"I don't know, it was a spur of the moment thing. I didn't even really think about it."

"Do you like my brother?"

"Sure I do, he's a great guy. But if you mean if I have deeper feelings for him... I don't know. Maybe I'm still a little vulnerable after I broke up with Chip and he hasn't been taking it well. And Ross was so nice to me, it felt great to be with a guy who doesn't see me just as a piece of meat or furniture.

Do you know that every guy I have talked to the last two years has hit on me in some form? The only one who didn't was your brother. So yes, I really like him, especially for that reason. He treats me like a real person and when he gives me a compliment, I know that he means every single word of it."

Monica couldn't do more than sit in silence as Rachel poured her heart out. She always knew that Rachel wasn't the shallow person that so many other people always made her out to be. But it was in moments like these when Monica saw the person who disliked the Rachel from school, the cheerleader wanted by every guy.

Before any more could come she heard the guys laugh and they came over. They spend the rest of the time doing smalltalk and enjoying the sun before getting back to the camp.

It wasn't long before they were standing in front of Rachel's cab. After Rachel shook Chandlers hand, Monica hugged her tightly.

"Thanks so much for coming. I'm sorry that we didn't spend the whole day together." Monica whispered to here.

"It's okay." Rachel whispered back.

Monica let her go and watched Rachel stand before Ross. She was surprised when Rachel gave him a long hug after Ross offered her his hand. At last they parted and Rachel got into her cab and drove off.

The last few weeks went in a blur. She upped her training schedule and met daily with Ross and Chandler. Sometimes only Chandler. Also, her parents were back from vacation so she was in daily contact with them too. They promised them a surprise when they came home.

Two weeks before the camp was over, she started wondering, if she would be able to continue her training. Jogging wouldn't be that hard, they had great routes in their neighborhood but school work would fill up time and bad weather could put the kibosh on jogging fast.

When on the treadmill, her mind also wandered to Chandler. She knew that a relationship wouldn't be possible geographically but she couldn't help herself. As long as she was able to, she would enjoy his presence to the fullest.

As expected the day was, it came almost as a surprise to Monica when the last day of the camp started. After their last breakfast, she got onto the scales for the last time here. After a few seconds the number set and Monica jumped from the scales with a happy yell. She lost 105 pounds.

She practically pranced back to her room. Her roommates were already packing their things.

"105 pounds." she yelled, startling the others.

"Amazing. I only lost 55." Vivian said.

"60 for me." Theresa said. "Also 55 for Sandra and 45 for Melanie."

Mentioning that brought a scowl to Melanie's face.

"So what, I'm big boned." she said.

"No such thing." Monica and the others said in unison.

Laughing with the others, Monica packed her stuff and headed out towards the front gate.

They were standing outside the front gate close to the bus that would be bringing them back to the train station. Chandler saw them off, his train left two hours later.

"Chandler, remember our promise. Next year, after high school, we'll be roommates at NYU." Monica heard Ross say.

"You got it, my man." she heard Chandler answer and watched him and Ross hug.

When Ross stepped away, Monica took Chandler by the hands. In a spur of the moment, she gave him a kiss on the lips. When she felt him returning the kiss, she closed his eyes and so didn't see Ross turning away with a disgusted look on his face.

"I will miss you." she whispered to Chandler when their kiss ended.

Soon they were sitting on the train on their way back home. As the landscape rolled by, Monica thought of Chandler and their kiss. Maybe it wasn't the last time she would be able to see him.


End file.
